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2010 New Cambria National Song Contest Semi-Finals
The Semi-Finals for the 2010 New Cambria National Song Contest began on 6 November, and ran for five consecutive Saturdays before the Grand Final Gala on 11 December. Forty songs competed in the Semi-Finals, from which fifteen qualified to the Grand Final. Format The format for the Semi-Finals was the same as that of the previous year's contest. A total of ten songs competed in each weekly round (nine selected by NCT's judging committee, and the tenth selected by viewers via an online qualifying round), from which the top three directly qualified to the Grand Final. The fourth-, fifth- and sixth-placed songs in each round received an invitation to compete in the Wild Card Semi-Final. The four lowest-ranking songs were eliminated from the contest. The results were calculated from a 50/50 mixture of telephone/SMS voting and a three-person jury of professional musicians. Should there be a tie, the song that received the higher score from the telephone/SMS voting was given the higher ranking. Semi-Final One The first Semi-Final was held on 6 November. The John Cabot Concert Hall hosted the first round for the fourth consecutive year. Noah Kavanagh and Jelena Jakupović co-hosted the event. For the interval act, a short film about the village of Sea Point, New Cambria's most remote settlement, was screened. Dress rehearsals were held on 5 November. Performer Laura Jane Timmins caused a controversy during the performance of her song, "The Things I Should Have Said." Immediately following her performance, she shouted out "Thank you, everyone! Fight the fucking tyrants!" She then raised a picture of the flag of the United States and the flag of the United Kingdom with thick black Xs marked through each. The cameras cut away right afterward, but the incident was broadcast live in its entirety. Shortly after the live show, it was announced that Timmins' act violated the contest's rules, which state that performances may not include any profane language, nor political statements of any kind. Because of this, the decision was made to disqualify Timmins and her entry from the contest. Since "The Things I Should Have Said" ranked sixth out of the ten songs, its disqualification created an opening in the Wild Card Semi-Final. The Wild Card went to Curtis Keegan, whose entry placed seventh. The three-person expert jury will be: * Kelsey Kline, radio producer * Erik Stephens, music professor * Carl Cassidy, songwriter Semi-Final Two The second Semi-Final was held on 13 November. The Brock Carter Memorial Arena in Arvant hosted this event, after a scheduling conflict forced the arena to decline hosting the Grand Final. Dress rehearsals were held on 12 November. Cadence in Time are the first winners to return to the competition as contestants. They won the 2006 New Cambria National Song Contest. The three-person expert jury was: * Ingrid Davies, singer * Marc Essex, radio producer * Samson Leonard, orchestra conductor Semi-Final Three The third Semi-Final was held on 20 November. The Averytown Municipal Forum in Averytown hosted this event, and dress rehearsals were held on 19 November. Performance art group Exist Music Project appeared as the interval act. On 18 November, performer Keith Crowley announced his withdrawal from the contest, citing his wishes to spend the time with his father, who is in the final stages of terminal lung cancer. Crowley was drawn to perform his entry "I Don't Know What I'm Living For," in fourth position. When selecting the semi-finalists, the judging panel also selected a bank of alternate entries, to be added to the show in the event a semi-finalist was unable to perform. Therefore, Crowley's entry was replaced by "Lifeline" performed by Carmen Evans. The three-person expert jury was: * Kinzey Paulson, singer * Frank Capshaw, record producer * Paul Stanwick, multi-instrumentalist Semi-Final Four The fourth Semi-Final was held on 27 November. The Black Box Theatre in St. Saviour hosted this event. Dress rehearsals were held on 26 November. The three-person expert jury was: * Gretchen Carlson, singer and runner-up of the 2004 New Cambria National Song Contest * David Kirby, radio DJ * Syreeta Washington, singer-songwriter Wild Card Semi-Final The Wild Card Semi-Final was held on 4 December. The Treetop Theatre in Talbot hosted this event. Dress rehearsals were held on 3 December. The three-person expert jury was: * Christopher Ferguston, voice coach * Lucy Kennedy, singer * Eric Browne, musical theatre actor Category:New Cambria Category:Events